Jay Kline

9.7

Of all the American red wines that participated in the Judgement of Paris, it could be argued that Monte Bello has shown the greatest propensity to age. In fact, I would go as far as it requires lengthy cellaring to extract its best. I’ve had the good fortune to drink a number of tremendous vintages of Monte Bello over the last several years and this one has got to be at or near the top of the lot.

Opened and poured into a decanter about an hour prior to service and enjoyed over the course of a few hours. The 1991 Monte Bello pours a deep ruby/purple color with an opaque core moving out towards a light ruby rim; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and some signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is developing (still!) with gorgeous notes of ripe and tart black currants, mixed bramble fruit, tobacco, some purple flowers, dill, mint, leather, earth, vanilla and associated baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. The structure remains tremendous which again, seems to indicate youth. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is super long and immensely satisfying. This is one of those wines that will outlive most humans. Drinking well now with a short decant but this has the gas to see 2061 with ease. — 20 days ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Served alongside beef short rib, xo sauce, pickled mustard seed, cumin stir-fried asparagus. Yes, the 2003 Dominus is big. However, it is also balanced and showing classic Napa typicity with beautifully ripe and some slightly wizened black and red fruit, tobacco, cocoa, some purple flowers and baking spices. I found this to be quite balanced after all the air it saw. Wonderful structure for continued aging as well. Drink now through 2043. — 3 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

2018 vintage. Needs a 7-10 split of years to lose the baby fat and precocious ways. Undeniably delicious now and don’t see this shutting down in a noticeable way over that decade. 4.8.23. — 2 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.5

This was my last 2008. See several previous Delectable notes. Typically reliable Moss Wood Cabernet. — a month ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.2

Medium ruby , terracotta /garnet rim. Quite round and ripe , red plum , cigar and ripe blackberry, touch of soy . Touch of cocoa , blackberry and ripe dark cherry , black tea . Quite sweet , rich on the palate, generous for Las Cases , slightly dried fruit , fig and red plum . Pretty decent length , balanced but quite discreet acidity , rounded tannins . This is at peak now and I don’t see much up side from here , so best to drink over the next 5 years or so, though it did hold up in the glass quite well . Atypical for Las Cases with its ripe fruit, quite low acidity , sweet tannin: also this only has 42% Cabernet Sauvignon. Overall probably the least successful of the wines in this tasting , but the level overall was very high. — 2 months ago

Paul J

9.7

Amazing as always!! See previous notes. — 6 months ago

with Brooke

Ed Chang

9.7

Can’t wait to see how this evolves. — 2 years ago

John Malcolm

9.7

I see that I rated this wine in September 2022. I am sticking with that rating. A stunningly delicious wine. A nice Christmas Eve treat. — a month ago

Peter Sultan

9.2

Last of my bottles & a bit sad to see it go- these were soulful wines, demanding not just in managing & extracting their corks but in leaning in to taste what they have to say. After a double decant & cheesecloth/strainer, tasted over 2 days, using a half bottle for day 2. What I loved was the wholeness & evocativeness of the wine, with all the parts having melded; fairly closed on nose but by day 2 old forest floor, rose hips, & black tea leaves; on palate all that & rose petals, dried cherries. The drinking window is closing as previous Delectable users have noted, but what a cool sunset. — 2 months ago

Nathan Renfro

9.5

My first bottle of the ‘16. This is drinking really well right now, and I can’t wait to see it in 10 years. Fruit is ripe, tannins are tight but approachable. Black and red fruit. Acidity still strong but also approachable. Overall well structured and integrated. Just gonna get better with time, but like I said, it can be pnp, but with patience it’ll be fantastic. I agree with WS 95 rating. — 2 years ago